Georgia Shotgun Qualification (GASQ)

SQT A-1

I. FIREARM: Standard Service 12 Gauge shotgun semi-automatic or pump action shotgun

II. AMMUNITION: 4 rounds 12 gauge slugs; 6 rounds 12 gauge 8 or 9 pellet "00" buckshot; 2 rounds handgun

III. TARGET: (two targets per shooter)

IV. CLOTHING: Issued duty gear, eye and ear protection.

V. SIGHTS: It is highly recommended that agencies and instructors have the officers pattern their shotguns on an SQT A1 target from distances of 3, 7, 10, 15, 20 and 25 yards in order to identify where the pellets begin leaving the target scoring zone identifying the shotgun ammunition's maximum spread.

VI. GENERAL: All reloads are the shooter's responsibility. If the shooter encounters a malfunction from 25 yards or less, they may transition to the sidearm and complete that stage. Rounds may be made up at the stage where problems or malfunctions occur, but only within the allotted time limits for that stage.

VII. SCORING: Slugs and handgun rounds will be scored 2 points each for “A” zone hits and 1 point each for hits outside the “A” zone but still within the scoring area. Total possible points for four slugs and two handgun rounds will be 12 points. "00" buckshot will be scored as 1 point for each hit within the scoring area of the (2) targets. Total possible points for the 8 pellet buckshot is 48 points. Total possible points for the 9 pellet buckshot is 54 points.

Maximum Raw Score: 60 (8 pellet buckshot)

66 (9 pellet buckshot)

Minimum Qualifying Score: 48 = 80% (8 pellet buckshot)

53 = 80% (9 pellet buckshot)

VIII. SAFETY: During the course of fire while reloading or clearing a malfunction, the shooter will maintain muzzle and trigger finger discipline, weapon pointed down range and finger off of the trigger and outside the trigger guard. While moving the safety will be engaged, finger off of the trigger and outside the trigger guard and muzzle pointed down range. 

While loading the shotgun, the shooter must visually and physically inspect each round of ammunition before loading the round into the weapon. Special care must be taken to differentiate between slugs and buckshot ammunition. 

Road Ready / Gun Box Condition: The action is forward on an empty chamber, the magazine is loaded, and the safety is on. 

Low Ready / Cover Positions: The Low Ready position is defined as shotgun stock in shoulder, weapon pointed down range, safety on and finger off of the trigger and outside the trigger guard. The shotgun will be pointed just below the target so as to clearly observe the suspect’s hands. 

The Covering Offset position is defined as pointing the weapon in a safe direction left or right of the target. This is advantageous when utilizing the prone position. 

Covering the target: The target does not become a threat until it is either presented (moving or turning targets) or sound/verbal indicator command is heard.

VII. COURSE:

Stage One: 25 yard line, 2 strings of fire, use of cover, 2 slug rounds. Instructor: Once all students are on the 25 yard line have the shooters load the shotgun to gun box / road ready condition with two slugs in the magazine tube and handguns will be loaded and holstered with a full magazine.

String 1- Right side of cover: 4 seconds one iteration Standing outside of cover at a low ready position, on command the shooter will move behind cover, chamber a round and begin searching for the targets using the angular search technique around the right side of cover. From a low ready when the targets are presented, the shooter will fire 1 round on the right target in 4 seconds.

String 2- Left side of cover: 4 seconds one iteration Standing outside of cover at a low ready position, on command the shooter will move behind cover, and begin searching for the targets using the angular search technique around the left side of cover. From a low ready when the targets are presented, the shooter will fire 1 round on the left target in 4 seconds.

Stage Two: 15 yard line, 2 strings of fire, use of cover, 4 buckshot rounds and 2 slug rounds. Instructor: Once all students are on the 15 yard line, have the shooter load the shotgun to gun box / road ready condition with 4 rounds of buckshot in the magazine tube.

String 1- Either side of cover: 8 seconds one iteration Standing outside of cover at a low ready position, on command the shooter will move behind cover, chamber a round and begin searching for the targets using the angular search technique and fire 2 rounds on each target in 8 seconds. Instructor: Have students out of battery load the shotgun behind cover with 1 slug into the chamber and in battery load 1 slug into the magazine tube.

String 2- Either side of cover: 6 seconds one iteration On command from a low ready position, the shooter will lean out from behind cover and fire 1 head shot on each target in 6 seconds.

Stage Four: 7 yard line, 1 string of fire, transition to handgun, 2 buckshot rounds and two handgun rounds.

Instructor: Once all students are on the 7 yard line have the shooter out of battery load 1 buckshot round into the chamber and in battery load 1 buckshot round in the magazine tube.

String 1- 6 seconds one iteration

On command from a low ready position, the shooter will give verbal commands and fire 1 round on each target, Transition to their handgun, and fire 1 round on each target in 6 seconds

Guidelines for Scoring the Georgia Shotgun Qualification Course (GASQ)

Slugs and handgun rounds will be scored as two (2) points each for “A” zone (center mass/central area) hits and 1 point each for hits outside the “A” zone, but still within the scoring area of the two (2) silhouettes. Total possible (maximum) points for four slugs and two handgun rounds will be 12 points. "00" buckshot will be scored as 1 point for each pellet hit within the scoring area of the (2) targets, without regard to whether the hits are in the “A” zone (center mass/central area) or the remainder of the silhouettes’ scoring area. Total possible points for the 8 pellet buckshot load is 48 points. Total possible points for the 9 pellet buckshot load is 54 points. 

Maximum Raw Score: 60 (8 pellet buckshot); 66 (9 pellet buckshot)

Minimum Qualifying Score: 48 = 80% (8 pellet buckshot); 53 = 80% (9 pellet buckshot)

In all scoring scenarios, should the perforation ring of a slug, a handgun bullet or buckshot pellet break the scoring line of any scoring area, the shooter shall be credited with the scoring value of the higher of the adjacent scoring areas and graded accordingly. Accurate scoring of the target, due to the target damage incurred as a result of short range shotgun fire, can appear to be a daunting task. Below are some tips for managing this task successfully and accurately.

Begin by assuming that all rounds have penetrated the silhouette area of the target. Because pellet rounds from the buckshot are scored with equal value regardless of where they impact the silhouette, the ‘A’ zone of the target does not carry any more weight than the rest of the target. Next, search for pellets that have impacted outside of the silhouette. Count the total number of pellets in the green area (outside of the silhouette) and subtract this number from the total possible pellet count. The difference here will be total pellet count that has impacted within the silhouette.

Buckshot only: It is acceptable to shoot the entire course utilizing buckshot, however the instructor may have to adjust the distance for the student to ensure that the ammunition used DOES NOT exceed the pattern spread at the qualification distance. 

In simple terms, if the student’s ammunition and weapon system exceeds the scoring area on the SQT A1, start the qualification course stage 1 at the 15 yard line. For the head shot portion on stage 2, incorporate it on stage 4. Leave all other stages the same.

Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Shotgun Qualification Course

FBI Shotgun Qualification Course

TARGET: FBI"Q"

AMMUNITION: 11 Slug, 5 Buckshot (00) (5 points per rifled slug, 1 point per pellet)

Agent Qualifying Score: 80%; Instructor Qualifying Score: 90%

STAGE I

STARTING POINT: 50 YARD LINE

TIME ALLOTTED: 20 SECONDS

Start from Position 1 (shotgun empty, action closed, safety on). Assembly area load 2 rounds of rifled slug into the magazine and come to Position 5 (high ready position). On command the shooter chambers a round, disengages the safety and fires 1 round standing strong side barricade and 1 round kneeling strong side barricade. Upon completing Stage I, the shooter will unload and return to Position 1 with an empty weapon and the safety on.

STAGE II

STARTING POINT: 25 YARD LINE 

TIME ALLOTTED: 45 SECONDS

Start from Position 2 with an empty weapon, action open and safety on. On command the shooter loads 5 rounds of rifled slug, fire 2 rounds strong side standing barricade and 3 rounds strong side kneeling barricade. Upon completing Stage II, the shooter will unload and return to Position 1 with an empty weapon and the safety on.

STAGE III

STARTING POINT: 15 YARD LINE

TIME ALLOTTED: 1 ROUND IN 20 SECONDS,

3 STRINGS OF 1 ROUND IN 3 SECONDS

Start from Position 2 with an empty weapon, action open and safety on. On command the shooter loads 4 rounds of rifled slug and fires 1 round in 20 seconds. The shooter then comes to Position 3 (low ready position) with the safety on. On command the shooter fires 3 strings of 1 round in 3 seconds, returning to Position 3 with the safety on after each string. Upon completing Stage III, the shooter will unload and return to Position 1 with an empty weapon and the safety on.

STAGE IV

STARTING POINT: 7 YARD LINE 

TIME ALLOTTED: 35 SECONDS

Start from Position 2 with an empty weapon, action open, and safety on. On command the shooter loads 3 rounds of buckshot, fires 3 rounds, reloads 2 rounds of buckshot, and fires 2 rounds. Upon completing Stage IV, the shooter will unload and return to Position 1 with an empty weapon and the safety on.

FBI FIREARMS INSTRUCTOR HANDBOOK 

REVISED 1/11/2000 

FIREARMS COURSES OF FIRE Part 25-4

Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee Shotgun Qualification Course

 

MPTC FIREARMS TRAINING PROGRAM

Title: 25 Round Shotgun Qualification Course w/time limits

Course Type: Qualification

Date Written: March 2, 2009 Revised: March 31, 2011

Rounds: 28 (only 25 will be fired) Distance: 25, 15, 10, 7 and 5 Yards

Passing Score: 94% for firearms instructors, 80% for all others

Scoring: Slug – 4 points for each valid hit

00 Buck (8 or 9 pellet)* – ••• point per valid hit

*If the agency only authorizes buckshot, the 18 rounds fired at the 10, 7 and 5 yard line stages will be buckshot. Slugs will always be fired from the 25 and 15 yard lines.

Fundamentals: This course of fire incorporates the fundamentals of shotgun operation and marksmanship including loading, putting the shotgun into operation, firing from different positions, tactical reloading (topping off/put back what you shoot), downloading and unloading. Additionally, officers will use good tactical fundamentals such as verbal commands, scanning, use of cover and movement.

Objectives: This course of fire was designed to better evaluate an officer’s ability to –

    ● Load the shotgun in a safe manner;

    ● Access the weapon from the vehicle storage rack (if applicable);

    ● Place the shotgun into operation;

    ● Effectively put rounds on target;

    ● Fire the shotgun from realistic shooting positions including on the move;

    ● Keep the shotgun in a “ready to fight” condition by continuously topping off the magazine;

    ● Engage threats from various angles while pivoting and on the move;

    ● Scan effectively for additional threats;

    ● Download and unload the shotgun in a safe manner.

Notes: For ease in scoring, it is recommended the course be fired with slug ammunition. In this course of fire, the term “up” is used as the cue to fire. It should be noted that any cue such as “six” or “deadly threat” can be used as well. The command to fire should be decided by the instructor based on their agency’s policy.

STAGE ONE – KNEELING FROM COVER 25 Yards 3 Rounds (slug only)

Preparation: Begin with the shotgun in the condition it is normally transported in on the 30 yard line. This can be either unloaded or “transport condition” as the department’s policy dictates. If spare ammo is not positioned on the weapon, it will be positioned on the body where it can be easily accessed. Instructors are encouraged to have their officers demonstrate their ability to remove the weapon from the storage location in the vehicle if applicable. On the command “gun” or “threat”, the shooters will access their weapon, chamber a round and advance to the 25 yard line where they will cover the threat from the kneeling position using good cover and verbal commands.

On the command “UP”, the shooters will engage the target with 3 rounds, scan while covering the target then top off their magazines. On the command to “advance”, shooters will move to the 15 yard line covering their target. Finger off the trigger – Safety ON

STAGE TWO – OFF HAND 15 Yards 4 Rounds (slug only)

At the 15 yard line, shooters will engage their targets with 4 rounds in 7 seconds from the standing position on the command “UP”. Shooters will scan for additional threats, cover the target, top off magazine and move to the 10 yard line when the command “advance” is given. Finger off the trigger – Safety ON.

STAGE THREE – PIVOT & SHOOT 10 Yards 6 Rounds

At the 10 yard line, shooters will demonstrate their ability to engage a target to the side or rear. Instructor will demonstrate the SAFETY CIRCLE and how to keep the muzzle depressed inside it when pivoting. Have shooters face in the desired direction with muzzles fully depressed. On the command “UP”, shooters will (in order of sequence) –

LOOK to identify the threat,

PIVOT to face the threat,

Bring the MUZZLE UP to the threat and

ENGAGE with ONE round in 3 seconds.

Cover – Scan – Top Off

Pivot to the LEFT – fire one round in 3 seconds. Repeat 1X (2 rounds).

Pivot to the RIGHT – fire one round in 3 seconds. Repeat 1X (2 rounds).

Pivot 180 degrees – fire one round 3 seconds. Repeat 1X (2 rounds).

Instructors should have shooters look and pivot BEFORE bringing the muzzle up on target. If you are running a crowded line or working with novice shooters, you can reduce the angle to 45 degrees so all muzzles remain in a safe direction.

STAGE FOUR – SHOOTING ON THE MOVE 10 to 7 Yds. 4 Rounds

Shooters should still be scanning from “low ready” on the 10 yard line. On the command “Advance and Engage” or “UP”, shooters will advance to the 7 yard line while firing two rounds. Once at the 7 yard line, shooters halt, scan and top off magazines. Repeat again for a total of 4 rounds. Instructors should encourage shooters NOT to stop when they shoot - keep the line moving.

Safety ON – Scan – Top off magazine if necessary

STAGE FIVE – CONTROLLED PAIRS w/ Movement 7 Yards 6 Rounds

Shooters face threat with shotgun at the low ready position. On the command “UP”, shooters will engage with two rounds then move one step laterally (left or right) as directed in 5 seconds. Scan – cover threat.

Repeat twice more for total of six rounds.

Top Off if necessary

Safety ON – Low Ready

On the command “Advance to the Five”, shooters move forward to the 5 yard line.

STAGE SIX – HAMMER DRILL 5 Yards 2 Rounds

Position shooters facing the threat with weapon at “low ready”. On the command “UP”, shooters will fire two rounds in 3 seconds in rapid succession to center mass.

DEMONSTRATE ABILITY TO UNLOAD & DOWNLOAD THE SHOTGUN

The shotgun will have 3 rounds remaining (including one in the chamber). Shooter(s) will demonstrate ability to download to Transport Mode and then unload their shotgun. If necessary, this evaluation may be conducted off the range with dummy rounds. In that case, only 25 rounds are required for the qualification course.

This skill set is part of the shotgun qualification and must be demonstrated.

Home Defense Shotgun Qualification

Since I use a shotgun as a home defense weapon, I periodically fire qualifications with my shotguns. It is a good idea to demonstrate and document for record your competence with any firearm you might use for self-defense.

The claim of self-defense as a justification is for an intentional act, not for an accident or negligence. Demonstrating competence with your firearm can short-circuit the  prosecutor’s potential tactic of arguing that you discharging the firearm was an accident or negligent act rather than intentional self-defense. 

What course should you use? There are several approaches you can take in choosing which course of fire to use to demonstrate competency. For the shotgun, I recommend the Department of Energy (these are the guys that guard nuclear weapons and facilities) Shotgun Qualification course or your state or local police qualification course. The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) Shotgun Instructor Qualification I discuss below is what police firearms instructors must pass to receive TCOLE firearms instructor certification in Texas.

The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) Shotgun Instructor Qualification course of fire is actually fairly straight forward and requires ten rounds of buckshot or five slugs and five buckshot. Given the scarcity of premium buckshot at this time, I used the cheaper Fiocchi 9 pellet buckshot.

The TCOLE qualification is fired on the standard TQ19 target with all pellets counted as one point. The shooter must score 90% to pass at the instructor level. 

The Stages:

25 yards: on command chamber and fire 3 rounds

25 yards: on command chamber and fire 2 rounds

15 yards: on command chamber and fire 3 rounds

10 yards: on command chamber and fire 2 rounds

Click on the picture below for a video of the qualification:

Texas TCOLE Shotgun Qualification

I fired the qualification twice, once using a target much smaller than the TQ-19 and once using a B27 target that is closer in size to the TQ19.

My Beretta 1301 is not a 25-yard gun with the Fiocchi buckshot and will have flyers as shown on the cardboard target. Although the wads likely took out evidence of a few hits, I could only account for 78 pellets which was not a passing score. The B27 target contained all 90 pellets which was a 90 or perfect score.

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Java Gold—A Short Range Match Stage

In April 2010 security cameras recorded a violent attack at the Java Gold jewelry store in Houston. Three men robbed and beat the store owner and an employee. Police eventually caught all three attackers.

Mehmood Ghaznavi the store owner armed himself after this robbery and unfortunately was killed in a gunfight with Anthony Parks during an attempted robbery in a separate incident a year later on 6 July 2011. Police found Parks at the scene and transported him to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the right side of his forehead. A jury later convicted Parks of Ghaznavi’s murder and sentenced him to 40 years in prison.

This is a video of me shooting Java Gold—a Short Range Match stage that replicated the April 2010 robbery. The scenario: String #1: Starting seated at P1with hand on holstered pistol (or retention ready), draw and engage all targets with at least two rounds. You may stand or move as you deem necessary. String #2: Starting seated at P1 remove pistol from the box and engage all targets with at least two rounds. You may stand or move as you deem necessary.

The Short Range Match stage design encourages people to use proper tactics and cover. The match replicates incidents such as the Java Gold robbery on a square range. The Short Range courses of fire seek to replicate real life scenarios where you are more likely to use carry-suitable handguns. The match's guiding principle is to improve concealed carry skills and shooters ideally will use a pistol they carry to shoot the match. All pistols may be loaded to magazine capacity; however, the match may have some reloads on the clock or some malfunction drills. Although this was a static stage, we typically practice a lot of moving to cover during the Short Range Match.

You will notice that the targets are covered with old t-shirts.  I inadvertently learned a few years ago that shooters tended to shoot low when they did not have a reference aiming point--either the ability to see the down zero ring or tape on the target.  They were literally shooting "center of mass." Since then, I frequently cover the target and regulars at the match have learned to raise their aim to the proper, anatomically correct area on the target.

I have also become convinced that the typical IDPA match encourages training scars. Training scars are bad habits, inappropriate, or counterproductive actions that don’t have a basis in proper tactics. Prior to the rule change several years ago, IDPA stages often required shooters to engage targets while moving. This resulted in shooter taking baby steps as they engaged targets. Obviously if someone is shooting at you, chicken walking in the open is probably not a good idea.

Under the current rules, competitors can also engage targets while standing in the open much like USPSA stages. If cover is available you should get to it as fast as possible. Several years ago, Active Response Training published the results of an informal experiment testing the benefits of static engagement, moving and shooting, and using cover. 

Although certainly not a controlled scientific experiment, the results are interesting. Defenders who remained stationary were hit 85% of the time with 51% hit in the torso. Defenders who moved were hit 47% of the time with an 11% hit rate in the torso. Defenders who rapidly moved to cover were only hit 26% of the time with a 6% hit rate to the torso—a significant improvement in survival potential. The full article is worth the read. Click here.

I’m not bashing IDPA or USPSA; however, if you are interested in improving self-defense skills, training with scenarios like those we use in the Sensible Self Defense Short Range Match helps. IDPA, USPSA, the Short Range Match and similar contests do train us to shoot under stress and improve our speed and accuracy. The skills we practice most often are the skills we will use if called upon to defend ourselves so occasionally shooting a match using correct tactics is a good idea. You may not win the match, but it will improve your odds if you are forced to draw your pistol to defend your life.

If you enjoy reading these please subscribe. The link is on the upper right side of the page. All that will happen is that you will receive an e-mail when I post an article. Your information will never be distributed.